The new AARX18G from Acoustic Research has been delayed till September 2009. No news on why the delay. Can't wait for this remote to hit the retail market. Hope this time it will be out in September. Last I heard this was going to be release in the Spring 2009. I was going to purchase the Harmony 1100,but saw this on the web 2/24/09 and wanted to wait for this remote. Everything sounds good about this remote. Harmony watch out! You Can go their website to find out more information www.araccessories.com

The new AARX18G from Acoustic Research has been delayed till September 2009. No news on why the delay. Can't wait for this remote to hit the retail market. Hope this time it will be out in September. Last I heard this was going to be release in the Spring 2009. I was going to purchase the Harmony 1100,but saw this on the web 2/24/09 and wanted to wait for this remote. Everything sounds good about this remote. Harmony watch out! You Can go their website to find out more information www.araccessories.com

I am interested in what you percieve to be special about this remote? From the limited information on the AR website it just looks like another RF remote to me.

The XSight remote is interesting and from what I understand has been successful for Universal Electronics in Europe. I hop Audiovox throws some marketing and support behind this when they introduce it in the US because it could be a nice alternative. But I'm not holding my breath.

Acoustic Research XSight AAR18G will be worthwhile contender to the current favorite universal remote Logitech Harmony One. Harmony one @249.99 is not a RF remote,Harmony 1100 which is a RF remote @499.00 plus the wireless extender @99.00; total of 598.00. The AAR18G will run about plus 250.00 add the 100.00 RF extender kit total of 350.00. But the big improvement over the Harmony is the inclusion of built-in RF capability;add the RF Extender Kit and you can operate componets outside your line of sight(such as closed cabinets,or even in another room). XSight models one-up the Harmony with multiple user profiles and favorite channels list,and the flexibility to be programmed directly from the remote or via a pc. The built in setup wizard lets you choose the make and model of your coponents,and cycles through control codes untill it hits the right one.

Another feature that has DirecTV subs excited about this remote is that it supposedly works directly with their RF capable receivers just like the OEM remotes - no extenders, bases or blasters required. That's what AR tells us anyway. Well see when we actually get our hands on one.

it is supposed to have macro capabilities (like Harmony remotes) but we still need to learn if there is a limit to the number of steps;

it has dedicated RGBY color keys (much needed for DIRECTV);

it has multiple profiles per activity, so one activity can have numerous arrangements so that each user in the house can have a customized remote with their own name and channel favorites, but it's working the same activity;

it has a dedicated LIST button (great for any DVR user)

it can be programmed and updated for basic functions without a web site

Now I'm just hoping AR is still on track for the September date from Post #1, as this remote is calling me!

Pretty sweet remote. It was being discussed over a year ago at RC, i cant believe its still not here. I contemplated adding it to the family but the T1-B has my attention right now. It doesnt have a touch screen but it has custom hard buttons for macros. No fav icons suck but i dont really need it.

Pretty sweet remote. It was being discussed over a year ago at RC, i cant believe its still not here. I contemplated adding it to the family but the T1-B has my attention right now. It doesnt have a touch screen but it has custom hard buttons for macros. No fav icons suck but i dont really need it.

Not holding out. The AR remotes will still be introduced but we do not have any info on when or where.

Nevo will be introducing the new custom series at CEDIA and we hope to have them by the end of September but I'm reluctant to make any comparisons to the XSIGHT remotes. I'll leave that up to you guys to do on your own ;-)

Has anyone picked up one of these? I saw these on the front of the Frys sales paper this morning, and they look pretty good.

I picked one up at Fry's today, but unfortunately they didn't carry the RF extender (which I'll need.) I'm also going to pick up the Harmony 900 tonight and eval both units to see which I like best.

First impression: There is no indication that any charging is going on at all while its in its docking cradle or plugged in to my PC via usb. For all I know the device is dead, but the instructions say to let it charge 3-4 hours before proceeding, so I suppose I'll do just that!

Ok, so while the Quick Start guide that came with the remote doesn't say any of this, the online owners' manual says this:

Quote:

The supplied battery comes partially charged, but we recommend charging it for approximately an hour before use. To do this, connect the charging cradle to a power outlet using the supplied AC/DC Adapter and place the remote on the cradle. The display will show the battery charging icon.

None of this is happening so I'll assume the battery has a zero charge or that it's NG out of the box and I'll have to swap it out for a replacement.

DirecTV RF capability confirmed! I added my HR20 as a device then went into the settings on the remote itself and enabled DirecTV RF and it works!

Gotchas: 1. It only has pre-programmed devices for HR20 & 21, though that shouldn't matter. 2. When you enable RF in the HR you have to punch in a series of codes into the remote. One of them is 961, but another is evidently a unique 6-digit ID for your device. You need to jot this down or memorize it, as the Touch needs you to plug it in in order for RF control to work.

Now to find the RF extender and I'll really be able to test drive this...

I went to Frys today to check this out, and it looked nice. I just couldnt pull the trigger. I hoped to come back in here today and see that a punch of you had picked it up and left some reviews.

Ha! I need to play with it a bit more first. I found the RF extender at Best Buy so that was an unexpected find. I'm putting together my dedicated HT right now so that's keeping the remote experimentation at a minimum.

As a DIRECTV customer with three HR20 receivers in my living room, I'm curious if the remote has multiple IR code sets native or if I will have to learn commands for additional IR sets.

Yeah since it wants the unique RF id for each receiver I'm hopeful that it'll control more than one easily enough. I just haven't had time yet to try that out.

I apologize but I haven't tried out macros yet either. In fact this is the first time I've been on the PC all weekend. Just burning the midnight oil in the new HT room, but will hopefully program more within the next couple of days. But I am hopeful that it does macros just fine since it's present in the software.

Pissed that 'Losertech' left out proper macro programmability!
If anyone gets it let us know!

Next hurdle will be getting it to Australia, same old dilemma :-(

I briefly looked at the new AR remotes at BB when I bought my 900 last Sunday. I sure wish the 900 had sequences or macros, but even if the AR remote offered that, I didn't give the AR remote serious consideration because it ddn't have the key layout or feel of the Harmony One or the 900. The AR keys are much too small for my hand and feel spongy compared to the Harmony One or 900. At the end of the day, once any remote is programmed the way you want it, if the ergonomics of the remote don't make it appealing and easy to use, you won't care that it had macros or not. Not needing macros now but thinking I might need macros in the future was still not enough reason for me to buy an AR remote that didn't appeal to me ergonomically.